Archive for the ‘Press Releases’ Category

Lahore, September 20, 2012: Tetra Pak marks the 60th anniversary of the delivery of its first filling machine with the launch of the ‘Voices of Innovation’ video series. Over the next 12 months, videos will showcase the people who have helped to deliver six decades of technology, social and environmental innovation, beginning today with perspectives from Tetra Pak CEO, Dennis Jönsson.

The Voices of Innovation series explores every aspect of Tetra Pak activity, from products, services and technology, to sustainability and the environment, and food safety and social programmes.
Speaking of the 60th anniversary milestone, Tetra Pak CEO Dennis Jönsson said “For 60 years Tetra Pak has been driven by the idea that innovation should make people’s lives better. Our products, services, environmental activities, advances in food safety and social programmes are living monuments to the individuals who helped deliver these improvements to millions.”

Beginning its voyage of discovery in Sweden in September 1952 with the first Tetra Classic filling machine, Tetra Pak has gone on to build the world’s most extensive portfolio of packaging solutions with: 229 packages, 7,000 packaging combinations, 8,700 packaging units and 66,000 processing units in operation worldwide — and receiving 5,100 technology patents for the packaging and processing of liquid and semi-liquid food along the way.

Tetra Pak’s founder, Dr Ruben Rausing, believed that “a carton should save more than it costs.” It is a principle that was not only designed to save precious food and other resources from waste, but also saw the company take the lead on carton disposal issues in the 1970s, factory emissions in the 1980s, recycling in the 1990s and tackle global challenges such as climate change and sustainability in the 2000s.

Pioneering aseptic packaging in the 1960s, the company’s contribution to food and beverage processing was recognised by the Institute of Food Technology as the greatest food innovation of the 20th century. Landmark packages such as the Tetra Classic Aseptic, Tetra Fino Aseptic and Tetra Brik Aseptic cartons have all been used by Pakistan’s leading food and beverage manufacturers to provide safe and reliable beverage options to local consumers.

As part of its corporate social responsibility, the company has been involved in school milk programmes around the world for the past 50 years, working` closely with governments, development agencies, NGOs, local dairies and farmers, to deliver 6.7 billion packages of milk and other nutritious drinks to 51 million children in schools in over 50 countries around the world. In Pakistan, the programme was executed in collaboration with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) and provided milk on a daily basis to around 5400 children in 50 schools in the Rahim Yar Khan District

Seoul / Karachi: 28 August, 2012 – LG Electronics (LG) announced that it has sold more than three million units of its front load washing machines in Korea in the ten years since 2002, underscoring the company’s reputation for manufacturing quality products. The incredible sales accumulated in the Ko-rean market over the ten year period translate to LG having sold one front load washing machine every two minutes – or an astounding 820 units per day.

“It has been a decade since LG sold its first front load washing machine on the Korean market,” said Moon-bum Shin, Executive Vice President and CEO of LG Electronics Home Appliance Company. “We believe its successful sales record in Korea can largely be attributed to LG’s innovative breakthroughs, such as our 6Motion Direct Drive technology powered by the Direct Drive. LG is always working on finding the best possible solutions to satisfy consumers.”

Since 2009, LG has incorporated 6Motion Direct Drive technology into all of its front load washing ma-chines with a capacity over 13 kilograms in the Korean market, enabling consumers to delicately, yet thoroughly wash their laundry, as though they had done it with their own hands. Also, even though the washing machines have a larger capacity, the Direct Drive enables them to achieve greater durability and energy efficiency. Moreover, the LG front load washing machines operate with reduced noise lev-els and vibration.

LG’s initial front load washing machines in the Korean market came with capacities ranging from a modest 5 to 7.5 kilograms. With great effort and engineering skills, LG is now able to produce washers that can accommodate up to 19 kilograms of laundry in a single load, roughly triple the original size within a ten year span. This impressive increase in scale has helped LG to successfully meet the needs of today’s busy Korean consumers.

Throughout its history, LG has continuously introduced innovative washing machine technologies into the market. LG developed world-first steam technology in 2005 to offer more thorough cleaning as well as allergy-care, and then in 2008 came Speed Wash, which reduced washing times and enhanced consumer convenience. In 2011, LG introduced its smart front load washing machine equipped with Smart Access, enabling washer operation to be monitored remotely via smartphone application

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As 50 Millionth Facebook User “Likes” Coca-Cola, Brand Announces Plan to Support Online Community in Making the World Happier

ATLANTA, Sept. 4, 2012 – If you could rally 50 million of your friends to make the world a happier place, what kind of results do you think you could achieve? Today Coca-Cola announced plans to find out as the 50 millionth Facebook user “Liked” the brand’s page. By harnessing the collective input of its fan base on Facebook, Coca-Cola will be a catalyst in identifying simple ways to make the world a happier place.

“Throughout its history Coca-Cola has always had a role in bringing simple moments of happiness to people around the world every day,” said Joe Tripodi, chief marketing and commercial leadership officer, The Coca-Cola Company. “Today we have an engaged global community more than 50 million strong connected through Facebook. This provides an opportunity to engage our most supportive and enthusiastic fans in a quest to find ways to make the world a happier place.”

Coca-Cola will identify individuals developing ideas that enable people to become more active, give to others, be social or engage in other activities associated with increased happiness. These creators will then collaborate with Coca-Cola and its Facebook community to develop ideas that help spread happiness around the world.

Through anew application on Coca-Cola’s Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/cocacola, fans can declare their commitment to help spread happiness and be a part of this global effort at http://CokeURL.com/50MM.

Once registered, fans will be invited to directly participate by influencing and shaping the ideas and rallying the larger community behind a social innovation. The Coca-Cola Company will support the selected concept and visionary behind the idea by providing access to teams that will help propel their solution. The ultimate outcome, to be piloted in 2013, could be a new invention, a cause or even a social application – something that can harness the connectivity of the Facebook community to spread happiness around the world.

“Coca-Cola understands the value of communicating directly with its most ardent supporters in an authentic way that helps make the world more open and connected,” said Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer, Facebook. “This new program is the next step in fan culture and we are glad to support Coca-Cola in this effort.”

Coca-Cola will share further details about the selection of participants, timelines and concepts identified as the program progresses in coming weeks.

The Coca-Cola Facebook Page was not created by the Company but by two fans of the brand – Dusty Sorg and Michael Jedrzejewski. In August 2008, Dusty and Michael were looking for a fan page on Facebook to share their passion for Coca-Cola and, not finding one that met their idea of a great page, created their own. From that beginning, The Coca-Cola Facebook Page has grown to become the largest brand page on Facebook.

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Karachi, September 04, 2012: DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, provided logistics support in shipping ultra-energy efficient vehicles to ‘Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Asia 2012’ held in Malaysia recently. The cars designed by PNEC-NUST team BOLT, an Urban Concept car and BALLISTA, a prototype cars weighed 130 and 70 kilograms respectively.

As part of its global GoGreen program, DHL Global Forwarding Pakistan was the official logistics partner of Pakistan Navy Engineering College (PNEC) at the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Karachi. A team of young students from NUST took part in the international mega-event ‘Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Asia 2012’ held at Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia. The marathon was aimed at challenging students from around the world to design, build and test ultra-energy efficient vehicles. The 10 winners of the competition were the teams that went furthest using the least amount of energy. Teams from Pakistan have participated in this marathon since 2009.

Speaking at the occasion, the CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Pakistan, Imran Shaikh, said, “We at DHL continuously focus on protecting our environment under our GoGreen initiative in which we optimize the carbon efficiency of our network, fleet and buildings. Our support for the Eco-Marathon held in Malaysia is in line with our global strategy and also helps us encourage young talent in Pakistan to pursue sustainable development.”

As a global company, DHL takes up its responsibility: under the motto “Living Responsibility”, its efforts focus on three areas: environmental protection (GoGreen), disaster management (GoHelp) and championing education (GoTeach). We also support the volunteer work of our employees through our annual Global Volunteer Day and the Living Responsibility Fund.

Global Volunteer Day 2012
For the second time, Deutsche Post DHL will be calling on its employees, customers and business partners around the world to take part in its annual Global Volunteer Day 2012. Following the success of last year in which about 60,000 people worldwide participated in supporting community projects, the company will launch this year’s activities from September 6 – 16th. For Global Volunteer Day, employees have the opportunity to get involved in community projects such as helping children, young people and the elderly, renovating or cleaning schools and community centers and carrying out environmental projects.
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Karachi, September 07, 2012 – LG Electronics (LG) is set to show off a variety of audio and video products at this year’s IFA tradeshow in Berlin. Following the strategy that gave LG leadership in the 3D TV market, LG is aiming to lead the global audio visual market with its strength not only in 3D and Smart TVs, but also in enhanced smart de-vice compatibility and innovative design.

“LG’s expertise in 3D technologies is being applied to our wide range of audio and video products, which will only help strengthen LG’s leadership in all things 3D,” said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG Home Entertainment Company. “LG is in a position to lead rather than follow, recognizing the latest industry trends and responding to what consumers are looking for by offering a whole new breed of peripheral devices.”

The Most Comprehensive 3D Sound Home Theater System

The BH9520TW is a 3D home theater system with four towering 9.1 3D speakers pumping out an immersive and multidirectional 3D sound designed to deliver powerful acoustics reminiscent of an IMAX theater or a grand opera house. The system is equipped with a 360 degree Reflector and an array of imbedded 3D sound technologies. LG’s 3D Sound Zooming technology synchronizes sound output with the location and movement of on-screen objects displayed on a 3D TV. The BH9520TW comes equipped with built-in Smart TV functions, giving viewers instant access to LG’s ex-pansive Smart TV ecosystem comprised of a wealth of content apps. Content access is further enhanced through a number of connectivity features, such as Bluetooth, USB and Wi-Fi. The addition of SIMPLINK elevates user convenience allowing viewers to control the home theater system through a single TV remote control or remote control app that is available for both Android and iOS smartphones.

A Versatile Sound Bar Audio System

The NB3520A is a compact sound bar audio system with wireless subwoofer offering rich and deep bass and adding a sense of realism to the home theatre experience. Thanks to LG’s 3D surround processor technology, it also offers realistic 3D surround sound. Its attractive simple and slim design integrates well into the modern home and its wall bracket makes mounting a simple task. The audio system includes an active subwoofer connected wirelessly over WiFi, removing the hassle of cables. With Bluetooth connectivity, streaming music from smart devices such as smartphones or tablets to the sound bar is a straight-forward process. A USB port is also available for connecting portable music players.

Taking Ordinary TV to the Next Level

The SP820 is a Smart TV Upgrader that turns any ordinary TV into a Smart TV. It enables instant access to an extensive collection of content and apps, significantly upgrading the home entertainment experience. The SP820 also comes with LG’s Magic Re-mote making it easier to navigate through the numerous smart features, contents and apps. The SP820 is equipped with a wide array of connectivity features, including Wi-Fi Direct™, which wirelessly connect the SP820 to external devices. These advanced multimedia and technical features are housed in an equally impressive casing with a sleek, ultra-premium design. The SP820’s shell was developed with high quality resin, molded for a sophisticated and distinctive look that will fit seamlessly into any interior.

Blu-rayTM Players with Hybrid Functionality

The HR929S and HR929D Blu-rayTM players offer HD Broadcasting reception and re-cording as well as Smart TV functionality. Equipped with HD tuners, these two Blu-rayTM players can display high quality digital broadcast as well as record on internal or external storage devices. Wi-Fi Direct™ and DLNA give users access to multimedia content stored on other devices such as notebooks, personal computers, and smart-phones. These players offer convenient access to premium VoD and applications from the LG App Store.

A Multimedia Entertainment Hub

The BP620 Smart Blu-ray™ Disc Player has received rave reviews from industry publications for a reason. The BP620 takes the multimedia experience to a whole new level with imbedded Smart TV functions and wireless connectivity to external devices. The BP620 offers convenient access to premium VoD and applications from the LG App Store.

Docking Speaker with Airplay and Intuitive Interface

Optimized for Apple’s mobile products, the ND8520 features AirPlay technology, enabling users to share their iTunes music collection throughout the home on compatible devices via Wi-Fi. The simple touch interface not only lets users control all of the speaker functions, but also music libraries stored on external devices. For additional connectivity, the ND8520 includes a USB port that supports MP3 and WMA playback. All these elements can be controlled using the speaker’s own remote control or with LG’s Bluetooth application for smart phones. The eye-catching ND8520 delivers impressive sound from its compact 2.1 channel 80W speaker, generating strong bass with its built-in woofer.

In addition to the ND8520, LG is also introducing the ND5520, which can wirelessly stream audio from both Apple and Android devices. Rounding out LG’s docking speaker range are the ND4520 and ND3520, offering the smart device generation a greater variety of technically superb connective speaker systems with innovative features.

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Karachi, September 7, 2012: Keeping pace with the ever changing needs and wants of today’s youth, ZONG – the fastest growing network of Pakistan is introducing a brand new offer called Student Package for its young subscribers. The package will entail 3 more tariff plans named Talkie, All Rounder and Texter which are targeted at meeting the varying demands of youngsters according to their personalities.

The telecom giant has once again emerged as the most considerate operator by offering reasonable rates which match the budget of students. Although other operators have also introduced various packages for youth, ZONG is the only one to truly understand that students want to remain connected but they have limited amount to spend on their communication needs. Thus, student package is designed to ensure that youth’s requirements are met in an affordable and comprehensive manner.

Briefing about this latest interesting package Mr. Usman Ishaq, Executive Director Commercial, ZONG said, “We are always looking for ways to create more and more options for the future of our nation i.e. our youth. We want to give them maximum choice and variety from which they can pick and chose. Realizing that youth is the largest segment of our nation and their communication needs are ever expanding, we will be introducing exciting offers for the youth. We are confident that students will benefit a great deal from this and future products of ZONG.”

Apart from the above packages ZONG is also offering Tarkaa – 2 new bundles to boost user experience and 1 existing bundle i.e. Perfect Package. Booster 1 will give 180 on-net minutes (except for 7-10PM), 500 SMS and 100 MMS. Whereas, through Booster 2 subscribers can get 250 SMS and 30 minutes of mobile internet..
Additionally subscribers can avail 50% discount on calls to 5 ZONG friends and family numbers. They can also win daily free minutes on daily consumption for Texter plan which means they will be receiving free ZONG minutes on the following day equal to the number of all charged calls in a given day.

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Top qualifiers from Karachi compete to win a spot in Shoaib or Moin’s squad

Karachi, September 07, 2012: Sprite Cricket Next (SCN) 2012, the one of its kind sporting experience for fostering the talent of Pakistani youth, entered into its second phase as the battle for supremacy between ‘Josh’ and ‘Hosh’ grew bigger than ever. The second phase kicked off with the top 180 qualifiers (30 teams) from Karachi competing to win a spot in the ‘Josh’ or ‘Hosh’ squad and be directly coached by legendary cricket icons Shoaib Akhtar and Moin Khan.

During the first round of elimination, 30 teams competed amongst each other until only 15 remained. These 15 teams (90 players) went on ahead to be judged based on their individual performances. The players were asked to move on to the designated game zones where they faced bowling machines and speed guns. 48 out of the 90 players were further shortlisted for the next round in which each of them would be assessed individually by Shoaib Akhtar and Moin Khan.

Out of these 48 players, Shoaib and Moin each drafted a team of 11 of the best players to represent ‘Josh’ and ‘Hosh’. Both teams faced each other in an action packed game of street cricket and based on individual performances during the match, Shoaib and Moin scouted players for their final squads.

In addition to these players, there were four wild card entries, talented individuals who were granted an opportunity to play against Shoaib and Moin and impressed thoroughly with their exceptional skills.

Speaking on the occasion, Shoaib Akhtar shared, “I am very excited about the JOSH players that are coming up; it’s exciting to see youth in its raw, talented form, as it reminds me of myself and how I started my career. It is evident that JOSH players clearly have an edge because they display all the attributes of a winning team. Through this platform provided by Sprite, which I have supported from the start, it is clearly evident to all that cricketers with JOSH have a clear street cricket advantage”.

Moin Khan, while sharing his views on the occasion stated, “I personally believe that cricket is a game which requires a sound presence of mind as it involves being able to make informed decisions and taking calculated risks. This platform provided by Sprite will prove once and for all that it takes HOSH and not JOSH to win, especially in street cricket. My players are patient, they have a reasoned and calculated approach and I know they will overcome the JOSH squad any day of the week, month or year.”
The players’ thrilling performances, the high tech environment of SCN and the presence of ‘Josheela’ Shoaib Akhtar and ‘Hoshyaar’ Moin Khand have provided cricket enthusiasts with a unique cricketing spectacle which is taking the sport to a whole new level.

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Karachi, September 10: The annual AIM Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (AFCSR) enters its second decade with its biggest conference yet as it travels to Thailand to hold the 11th AFCSR at the Bangkok Shangri-La Hotel on October 25 and 26, 2012.

Organized by the Asian Institute of Management – Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. Center for Corporate Responsibility (AIM-RVRCenter), the AFCSR is known to be the most significant conference on corporate social responsibility inAsia. The event is attended by various professionals—senior business executives, academicians, civil society as well as government organizations.

This year’s conference offers productive and informative sessions and topics stemming from the theme, Innovative Approaches To Creating Value for Business and Society, and will be supported by a framework that showcases the creation of innovative CSR programs while generating stakeholder engagement. Plenary and breakout discussions will revolve around five core topics, namely: assessment of the firm’s culture; development of the program; prototyping and evaluating; systematizing and implementation; and finally, embedding and encouraging CSR.

Introduced in Manila in 2002, AFCSR’s mission is to highlight innovative programs and best practices in CSR by corporations in Asia and to promote CSR as a key strategy in addressing public needs and problems, to showcase corporate standards on CSR as strategy, and to build a network of CSR practitioners across Asia.

Capping off the two-day event is the Asian CSR Awards and the Intel-AIM Corporate Responsibility Award ceremonies and gala dinner, which seeks to recognize companies inAsiafor their projects and programs on CSR. The Asian CSR Awards will be given in four categories, namely: Environment and Value-Chain Management, Governance and Society, Labor and Employee Engagement, and Product Responsibility and Consumer Rights while the IACRA will go to an organization that has fully embedded CSR throughout the aforementioned focus areas.

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Karachi, September 12, 2012: ZONG, the digital partner of Pakistani nation, has once again emerged as the industry leader by being the only cellular service provider to offer location based charging (LBC) services 24/7. The telecom giant has heavily invested in its technology during the recent past which has enabled them to provide unparalleled services to their subscribers.

Location based charging service was first introduced in Pakistan by ZONG and since then has become tremendously popular among the masses. ZONG had further strengthened its facilities by introducing concentric layer technology in 2010 and has been investing in technological advances since then. They initially introduced the LBC service in various cities such as Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad. However, now subscribers from over 100 cities are benefitting from this offer.

Mr. Usman Ishaq, Head of Marketing, ZONG, while expressing his views said that ZONG has always kept its customers’ needs in front while designing innovative services and packages. LBC is a one of its kind offer and taking a lead from ZONG, all major cellular service providers are now offering LBC. However due to its technological advancements, ZONG is the only network to provide this service round the clock in more than 100 cities. This fact is an assurance that ZONG is a trendsetter which truly understands the needs and wants of Pakistani cell phone users and is always the first one to step up in fulfilling those needs.

Mrs. Qadir, one of the earliest users of ZONG says, “I have been using ZONG since they launched their operations in Pakistan and I must commend them for their efforts to constantly improve their services. Offers like LBC is indeed a practical utility making it possible for us to stay connected with friends and family as much as we want in really reasonable charges.”

ZONG an international brand of China Mobile entered Pakistan’s telecom industry in April 2008 and has now spread its coverage across the country. Among all the Chinese investments in Pakistan, China Mobile is the biggest investor in Pakistan.

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Karachi / Beijing, Sep 11: Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Pakistan’s largest commercial bank, signed an agreement with UnionPay (UP) to issue UP cards in Pakistan and in global markets where HBL has presence. This new partnership is a “major breakthrough in forging the ties between the financial institutions in China and Pakistan” said Pakistan’s ambassador, Mr Masood Khan on this occasion. He deeply appreciated and lauded HBL’s pioneering efforts in establishing earlier linkages with Xinjiang Autonomous Region and major Chinese Banks like ICBC, ABC and Bank of China.

The agreement was signed by HBL President and CEO, R. Zakir Mahmood and UP First Executive Vice President Cai Jianbo. Present at the signing ceremony from HBL were its Chairman, Mr. Sultan Ali Allana, President and CEO designate, Nauman K. Dar and Head Payment Services, Faiq Sadiq. UP executives attending the ceremonies included Mr. Su Ning, Chairman and other senior officials.

HBL plans to roll out UP Cards and solutions by year end and expects to expand its offering in all major markets, including South Asia, Gulf and Europe by the middle of 2013.

Addressing the participants, UnionPay Chairman Mr. Su Ning said, since China-Pakistan Free Trade Zone was established, the cross-border payment demand has been increasing accordingly. The cooperation between UnionPay and HBL will bring Pakistan payment industry with new vigor, and better support the relationship between the two countries.

HBL - China UnionPay Alliance signed an agreement with UnionPay (UP) to issue UP cards in Pakistan and in global markets where HBL has presence. Sitting from left to right: Mr. Zakir Mahmood and Mr. Cai Jianbo. Standing from left to right: Faiq Sadiq; Nauman K. Dar; Sultan Allana; Mr. Su Ning and other senior officials at the signing of this agreement

About Union Pay
Union Pay operates the national inter-bank clearing and settlement system, develops the worldwide Union Pay Card acceptance network, promotes the issuance and usage of the Union Pay Card as well as other innovative payment solutions, so as to provide quality, efficient and safe payment services to cardholders. To date, the total number of the Union Pay Card issued has exceeded 3.2 billion. In addition, Union Pay has enabled the Union Pay Card’s acceptance in over 131 countries and regions through extensive cooperation with about 400+ institutions around the world. Additional information may be found at: www.unionpay.com.

About HBL
HBL is Pakistan’s largest commercial bank with a network of 1,470 branches across the country and a presence in 24 countries. HBL has over 5 million customer relationships. The Bank enjoys a leadership position in Pakistan’s Retail and Corporate Banking sectors and a strong presence in Consumer, Commercial and Investment Banking. Additional information may be found at www.hbl.com